Our Peaceful Valley pt 2

Well, it was not a one day event.  One of the girls at the library send this the next day:

On Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 8:01 AM, <bocalinda222@aol.com> wrote:

Mary- you have no idea what yesterday was like. I was walking in the parking lot about9:40 and this red jeep came from the other parking lot going about 50 mph. I thought he was going to go out the other entrance to our parking lot but instead he went down the sidewalk and stopped right in front of the library door for about 15-20 seconds opened his jeep door and then just flew across main street and down the ally way. He was right in front of me and I thought that was really strange and told Lesley as soon as I got into the library. We knew nothing at this point. When I went  to unlock the  doors at 10:00 a lot of trooper cars and police were on the street with their guns drawn. I again went in to tell Lesley and at that time she saw on the computer what was beginning to happen.We locked the doors and only let the people who were evacuated from the apts. in. We watched the SWAT teams come, the hound dogs, the sharpshooters on the buildings etc. It was happening right in front of us just like a CSI program. About noon we got a phone call to leave the building and we did. We stood at the end of the sidewalk along with other people but about 1:30 Lesley said she was going home because this could be a while and we could also leave if we wanted to. Because the village had pushed all the snow in Lesley's parking spot she parked next to but on the street side of Nancy's truck. Lesley had just gotten to her car but not into it yet when gunshots started. A lot of people hit the ground but Nancy, Debra and I ran to the corner of the building by Curves door. Soon after that several sherrifs etc. came and told us to get out of there but it was then we realized Nancy's window in the back cab part of her truck had been shot out. There was a lady comforting Lesley because the bullets went right over her head. She was WHITE. Nancy couldn't get to her truck so I brought her home with me. We had to go to Ilion and get to my house that way. She did a lot of phone calling to her insurance company and they told her not to move her truck. It's considered part of a crime scene. So Dave and I  took her home last night. That's about it. Lesley said I was lucky because that man could have easily turned the gun on me as I was walking. It's still going on this morning. Take care, Linda

Nancy's truck was taped off as part of the crime scene and it stayed that way until late Friday.  It must have been hard to believe it was happening!  

Friday morning as the swat cops and dogs went into the old bar, the gunman shot and killed a 2-yr old dog and the swat cops shot & killed him. It 's been determined that the gunman had set a fire in his apartment in an attempt to kill the people in the other 2 apartments before he went shooting.  No one will ever know for sure why he did it but it was over.   That block of Main St was still taped off Saturday afternoon.  

This incident is not causing a wave... or even a ripple... of anti-gun sentiment in the area.  Sales of guns continue to go up and the family of one of the men shot and injured  included a pro-gun sentiment as part of their statement thanking the community for it's help after the event.

Our Peaceful Valley....

It looks like the rest of the world is finally invading our peaceful valley.  This morning an armed gunman shot and killed 4 people, 2 in Mohawk on Washington St and 2 in Herkimer at Gaffey's Car Wash on Mohawk St and sent 2 more to the hospital.  There are police helicopters flying over head...low enough to see the decals!..., Route 5  was blocked at the Frankfort Bridge and part of Main St in Herkimer around Green St but, although there are checkpoints, traffic is still moving up Main St.   All the schools in the valley are in lockdown.  There were police from all the Valley towns (Frankfort, Ilion, Herkimer, Mohawk, Little Falls) along with the sheriff's department and US Marshalls, ATF, Homeland Security, FBI and State Police from Herkimer & Richfield Springs looking for a red jeep with a black top...that they found in Herkimer... and an older man with white or gray hair and beard that they id-ed but haven't found yet.

Jeff's in town at his apartment and is probably going to have to stay there for awhile but I wish he was here.  (Sorry cousin Mike M but I think a gun just went to the top of my wish list.)  The police seem to have the gunman, id'ed as Kurt Meyer, 50-60 yrs old, cornered in an apartment near Green St...sounds like a building across from the police station that had been a barber shop years ago.  There's even been a swat cop in a news video walking up Main St carrying a long auto gun!   From his kitchen window Jeff's been watching swat cops suiting up in the police station parking lot, big cell dishes being hooked up and bomb squad trucks pulling in, but nothing happening that he can see.  There are a couple of empty building in the area...an old school (Bills) and an old bar (the GH/Glory Days) ...that would make interesting hideouts.  Troopers have been working the area with their dogs, too, and a swat cop was seen going thru a window at Bills....

My friend, Fred, who is still teaching in China, is from Mohawk.  He emailed me this morning asking me to check on his parents, so I just called Marilyn, his stepmother.  They don't know who was shot, but Fred's father has his shotgun loaded and ready, the cars and house are locked up and they're staying inside...which they should do cos this morning Marilyn went to the dentist on Mohawk St in Herkimer near Stewart's and had a bit of trouble getting back home...a  lot of flashing lights slowed her down (Gaffey's is in the same block just the other side of the street).  Then they went back to Herkimer to Denny's and saw the lights again down the block but didn't go close enough to find out anything.  

TV is saying that Meyers, the suspect, set fire to his apartment in Mohawk before the shootings this morning.  No victim names have been released but it's been said the owner of the barber shop in Mohawk is one.  The governor was suppose to have a press conference at the East Herkimer state police barracks but most of the cops just left the building in a rush...Andy C, too,  and headed back down town.  Said there were shots fired in Herkimer.. but Jeff didn't hear any.

Every time a helicopter goes by overhead, my dog hides under the bed.  Here comes another...there she goes!

Oh, TV just said there is a new pope!

Ah, Late Winter...

Oh, how I just love late winter/early spring days.  The temperature the last couple of days has been in the mid to high 40's but hasn't felt any thing close to that!  And today it's raining...good for melting snow and washing away sand but the yard is a bog dotted with piles of 'doggie do'.  Yesterday I finally got my car inspected (only 11 days overdue) and Jeff asked them to check the rear suspension.  It was pretty shot...rusted away...holding together by grime and luck.  $400 later I had new rear struts, the oil changed and the car inspected...but no 2013 sticker coz the computer is screwed up again.  Got to wait 50-60 miles and they'll run it again.  This happens every time the car visits the mechanic.  Modern Marvels!

Went to the anti-coagulation clinic today for my monthly finger stick.  Haven't scored this bad (INR 5.0) in a long time.  Get to skip the rat poison (warfarin)  for 2 days and then go back again for another prick.  And with my cold this time I haven't taken anything except tylenol...which is not suppose to screw up the INR!  Don't know what caused the numbers to go so high (normal is 2.5-3.5).  More Modern Marvels!

The shop in Cooperstown is scheduled to open for the 40th season in just about a month (April 11th).  I am really looking forward to it.  Hope Jeff'll babysit the dog the first couple of days I work down there or I'm not going to have much of my comforter left. Fanny loves pulling the polyfill out and chewing on the fabric!  Wonder what it tastes like?  Also wonder what the waistband of my sweatpants taste like...that was yesterday's snack. Still more Modern Marvels??

Oh, What a Beautiful Day!

Today was a beautiful day.  The sky was so blue...with just wispy clouds...at 6am.  I saw it coz I didn't sleep well last night.  My cold has gotten to the 'nasal drip' stage and if I laid down I would start to cough, sneeze and need to blow my nose before I could fall asleep so I spent the night..from around 2am... in the chair by the wood stove.  The fire went out sometime before 6am but I was comfortable enough to get some sleep.  A long hot shower helped, too and by noon I was ready to meet the day (better late than never??). Jeff and I had talked about going to Utica shopping today so off we went.  First stop was Chanatry's on French Road... for meat. Jeff got some London Broil at $3.59 a pound and we both got Italian sausage($2.99) and boneless/skinless chicken breasts ($1.69)...enough to cook in the next week with some to freeze for later. I revisited my childhood by buying some pizzella's and Italian fennel pretzls and stocking up on pasta.  Most people say marcroni and cheese is their comfort food but for me it's acine di pepe (pastine) with butter.  It's easier and quicker than mac & cheese and you can dress it up with chicken broth!  Stop Two was Aldi's on Seneca Turnpike.  That location opened this summer and since Aldi's in Ilion is our regular store, we both wanted to see if anything was different there.  Baby carrots were only $.59/lb so I got a bag.  I also got some of the greenest bananas I've ever seen.  I'd like to say a quick stop at Hobby Lobby was next but it's never a quick stop there.  I just don't like that store...it's big and spread out, yarn is nothing to write home about, there's very poor needle selection and when I went over into the candle/wax section I couldn't stop sneezing and coughing! I needed some grippy cloth for slippers but they didn't have any...and while their pottery and ceramics were on sale, they didn't have any teapots. A complete washout for me.  Jeff took me to lunch at Five Guys and then we got lost trying to get to Gander Mountain.  Not lost really, we knew where we were, we could see the store but we just couldn't make the right turn to get there.  Happens nearly every time we try to go there.  You think we'd learn, huh?  We came home to find that Fanny had eaten a potholder, pulled more polyfill out of my comforter, tried to open my notion box (a metal Zingo's box) but couldn't and bit part of the fringe off my plastic canvas/needlepoint mugrug while we were out.  That dog knows she's done something wrong afterwards but ....  Right now she's laying next to me shredding kindling wood.  Helpful, huh?  I hope tomorrow is as nice as today was...there's plenty of cut wood to stack and more pallets to cut.

March Madness??

Jeff's birthday was last Friday.  I had knitted him a pair of slippers that he likes (it was the 3rd or 4th pair I've done for him), my mom said to buy him a bag of tobacco (yes, we contribute to his delinquency but he is 60 years old and if he wants to smoke there's not much I can do, is there?) and I did a London broil for supper with mash potatoes and gravy and bell peppers-mushrooms-and-onions and got a small cheesecake for dessert. There wasn't much left over...except the cheesecake, we were both good and ate just one pre-cut piece.  I put the left over London broil along with a leftover pork chop and a piece of hot sausage in the crock pot with a can of tomato sauce and we had cheese ravioli on Sunday night.  The meat all fell apart adding to the flavor of the sauce.  There was enough sauce left to freeze but the pasta and meat pieces were gone!  Another piece of cheesecake each....  

I haven't been knitting very much this week.  My hands really hurt from my recent falls...and my right arm has developed a nice black and blue mark...but when I took out the slipper I had found in the stash and tried it on it was too big. I measured it and found out it's Jeff's size so I made the mate.  He had given back 2 pairs of very worn out slippers with a request to mend them if possible.  (Mission Impossible!  He even wore off the plastic nobs and put holes in the grippy cloth!!) I just have to sew the grippy cloth on to the new ones and he's got another pair.  It is so nice to knit for someone who appreciates the effort...he actually asks for socks and slippers!  Like a lot of my knitting friends, I rarely give handknits as gifts any more after never seeing hats/mittens being worn.

Jeff cut wood Saturday and Sunday but I haven't felt like stacking it so I've been bringing in just enough in to fill the copper wood kettle and have a small stack on the porch.  The wheelbarrow is full...in the garage...but it's too heavy for me to move.  If it gets up the ramp to the porch I'll empty it and stack wood. There's enough cut in the garage for a couple of loads in the wheelbarrow and there are a few more pallets waiting to be cut.  Jeff said something about going to pick more pallets today but I hope he forgot about it.  He's used some of the longer pieces to build a 3-tier seed station complete with grow lights (photo to follow). It is time to start seeds eventho the March wind is blowing and there is snow on the ground.

I guess winter is almost over.  The shop's scheduled to open for our 39th season in just about a month!  I've got some more knitting to do before then but my shelf should be colorful and full!  I found a pattern for baby booties that uses only 70 yds of sock yarn for a pair.  I don't have good luck with booties...mine usually will fit Paul Bunyan's baby....but these are on US1's so they may work up ok.  And that will use up all the little balls of sock yarn!!  

Oh, What a Day!

Yesterday's mini snowstorm was almost a welcome relief.  I didn't do much...just didn't feel like it ...or... up to it.  Having fallen 3 times in 2 weeks has left me sore, stiff and bruised.  The first fall was that trip via the dog's treat ball. My fault but still....  My right hand is stiff and sore...especially the ring finger and although the x-rays showed nothing abnormal, the finger is still swollen and painful.  Then fall #2 occurred Sunday night.  I stood up and fell down, bouncing off Jeff's chair again and hitting my forehead on the copper wood kettle. (Stone cold sober, too.)   My left shoulder works when it wants and hurts when it does.  Heat helps and if I move slowly I can do it all.  I was sure I'd have a black and blue mark across my forehead but no, just a spot that is painful to touch. And a good scrape on my right knee. (Denim can really burn!)  The greatest fall was Tuesday morning.  It was sunny and bitter cold and everything was frozen.  I had a bag of clean laundry for mom in one hand and a crate of empty water jugs in the other.  I gingerly stepped off the ramp telling my self to be careful and not....  My feet didn't listen and I was suddenly on all fours on the ice.  There was no way to get any traction so I turned over and scooted across the ice on my butt to the snow ...making sure it was not a spot that Fanny had 'used'...and was able to get back on my feet.  I had scrapped both knees that time and now they are scabbed and sore,   reminding me of a summer on Dewey Ave when I was determined to roller skate eventho I couldn't keep those old key-tightened skates on my feet. Tylenol at bedtime has helped me sleep and I can still knit... just not for very long...slowing down my production line.  I did get Jeff's birthday present done.  

The grippie cloth soles were a real pain to sew on until I started using a fine paper punch to outline the edge.  They sew on easily now! Cutting them out with pinking scissors is still hard for me especially with these sore fingers. I keep saying I'm going to do a pair for me and when I cleaned the stash I found that I had started them.  In fact, one is finished!  Now I just have to do the other and sew on the soles. I've also made good progress on the baby sweater my cousin asked to make for him,too. I'm using Bernat Baby Coordinates in a color called Sherbet.  The silvery thread makes it look very nice but is easy to catch, splice and drop. 

Today I had a 9 am appointment to have my taxes done.  The last couple of years I've been having them done by AARP volunteers and have been quite pleased with my returns. I was the 1st client my volunteer had seen this morning and 2 hours and 3 volunteers later I had my taxes done...ready to be mailed in coz there was a problem none of them could figure out that was stopping them from e-filing the return.  I stopped at the post office on the way home and instead of getting my refund in 3 days it will probably be 3 weeks if I'm lucky.  I had a list of errands to do today after my tax appointment and still managed to do all but 1 of them.  Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

I rewarded my self with a pizza for supper which Fanny shared and now I'm going to go stoke up the fire and get comfortable.  There must be something good on tonight...if not, I'll knit.

Winter's Grip

We're still in the grips of winter with a couple of inches of fresh snow, near zero temperatures and the possibility of a weekend nor'easter. The woodpiles are shrinking and fuel oil has been delivered again.  (That makes 3 deliveries  totaling 300 gals for $1073.00)  Hopefully, that will be enough to make it to spring...which according to the groundhog is suppose to be early.)  Jeff was thinking about picking up pallets Friday...the weatherman was right and the temperature was near 30...but his back has been bothering him and an exam at the Pain Control Clinic earlier this week didn't make things any better.  He's got more tests to endure before a decision is made whether to operate on his back again (which would be operation #3) or try something new.  And I think I've got it bad sometimes with the plate & screws in my right leg...I swear it's a barometer!...but his back pain is pretty constant. I got the results of the x-ray of my hand...after tripping over a dog toy and falling last week.  Nothing 'abnormal'...then why does it hurt so much??  Oh well, just another spot to baby.

I've been knitting thru the hand pain and my 'new merchandise' bag is quite full.  I've about had it with sheep on sweaters that are either hot pink or mallard green so I switched to baseballs.  I did a size 6 mos hoodie, finishing it in a day and a half...size 6 mo sweaters don't take very long to do!  The hood and body are navy and the sleeves white. (Go Yankees!)  It's got a back zipper and a false Henley front with 3 baseball buttons. It's not recommended to put pull-strings in hoods on baby sweaters anymore so I had to get creative with the baseballs.  I think I'll force myself to do one in red (Boston?? Cincinnati?? ) before I do a pin-stripe sweater...which is rather boring to do but is a good seller. Jeff's 60th birthday is March 1st and I've started a project for him,too.  He actually likes the hand-knits I do for him...even wearing them out!

Finally got the paperwork finished for the nursing home for mom.  Had to get copies of some things...my father's death certificate, deed to the cemetery plot and Josie's SS card. Talked to the social worker at the facility yesterday and she said now we have to wait for Medicaid to kick in and a bed to become available.  I've said it before but I'll say it again:  make sure all your important papers are in order and up-to-date.  Nothing was where Mom said it would be!

Oh, this week Fanny 'ate' my cellphone and a cardboard kleenix box...by passing most of the tissues!  The cell case was punctured on both sides and she bite into the battery.  And I had over 80 minutes available on it!!